Alexa PhilippouSep 20, 2025, 07:01 PM ET
- Covers women's college basketball and the WNBA
- Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
- Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer
HENDERSON, Nev. -- Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was fined $200 for a comment on social media where she criticized officiating from the team's recent playoff series win over the Atlanta Dream, according to Clark.
"Got fined $200 for this lol," Clark posted on X with laughing emojis, referring to a screenshot of an Instagram comment where she wrote "Refs couldn't stop us."
Got fined $200 for this lol😂😂😂😂😂BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! @IndianaFever https://t.co/vO6OkDyfqU
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) September 20, 2025Clark, who was ruled out for the season due to injury on Sept. 4, drew attention to the matter at Fever practice on Saturday, shouting to reporters from across the gym, "Hey everybody, go look at my tweet!"
"that's gonna really break the bank for her," Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham -- who has also been fined multiple times this season for criticizing the reds -- posted on X. "starting a GoFundMe now!"
The officiating was a big topic of conversation during the first-round series between the No. 6 Fever and No. 3 seed Dream. At least 36 fouls were called in each game, including 43 in Game 1.
The Fever ultimately upset Atlanta thanks to a come-from-behind, 87-85 victory in the decisive winner-take-all Game 3, with Aliyah Boston providing the go-ahead layup with 7.4 seconds left in the game.
The Fever are set to face the Las Vegas Aces next, with Game 1 tipping Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.
"It was a football match," Aces coach Becky Hammon said Saturday of the Fever-Dream series. "There were bodies flying the whole time. Quite frankly, it made for very ugly basketball and I think that's something the league's got to take a look at.
"These players are incredibly skilled, and that should be highlighted. I don't know if they get a bonus for not calling fouls in the playoffs... some of the hits that I saw in the Atlanta-Indiana game, if I did that to you in the street, I would be arrested. But on a WNBA court, it's nothing to see here."
Clark, Cunningham and three other Fever players have had to watch the playoffs from the bench after suffering season-ending injuries, while Damiris Dantas was also sidelined during the first round with a concussion. Her status for the semifinals is unclear.
"BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!," Clark also said in the X post.
